Name: Garlic Butter Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 25 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 5 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces; 2 cloves garlic, mashed; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 3/4 cup chicken broth (177 ml); 1 cup heavy cream (237 ml); 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 g)

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Crock-Pot mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for any meal! The best part is that you can make them ahead of time and store them in the fridge until you're ready to serve. This recipe has a few simple ingredients, but it yields an amazing dish. This is truly one of the easiest ways to make tasty and creamy mashed potatoes you will ever try!

Are These Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes Good?

You know the feeling. It's a weeknight and you're trying to figure out what to make for dinner. The slow cooker is the answer when you have a lot happening and don't know what to do.As a side dish, nothing is better than mashed potatoes! They're so easy, they can be made ahead of time, and they'll taste delicious with any meal, whether you are making chicken, pork, or beef.

Making your potatoes in the slow cooker is just as easy, if not easier, than the stovetop. They are exactly like traditional mashed potatoes but they are made slower in the Crock-Pot. This saves you time and effort. You do not need to stand over the stove while the potatoes are boiling. Let the potatoes cook all day and then you are ready to add the finishing touches. As another bonus, this becomes a one-pot dish because you can do everything, including mashing the potatoes, all in one dish.

What Potatoes are Best for Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes?

There are a lot of different potatoes on the market. The most commonly used options for mashing are Yukon Gold or Russet. Yukon Gold potatoes are creamy, buttery, and mash wonderfully. They were truly made for this recipe. However, you can use other options if needed.

You can also use the classic Russet potato as those are easy to find, affordable, and delicious. Russets are the kind of potatoes that will fall apart in your hands when they're cooked, so they'll be perfect for mashing You can also use a basic baby red potato, fingerling potato, or creamer potatoes with excellent results.

If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can use them to make this soft potato bread recipe, or you could even add them to this stuffed potato paratha recipe. I've also tucked them into bolani a traditional Afghan dish that is tasty and easy to make. My husband loves them in these mashed potato cakes, but you can just eat them as made with another meal if wanted!

Variations of Mashed Potato Flavors

Have you ever looked at premade packaged potatoes? There is such a wide variety of flavors. When you are making homemade mashed potatoes, you can use these ideas as a starting point for creating your own mashed potato flavors.

Garlic and Parsley: The base of this recipe already has garlic, but you can update it so easily for more flavor. Garlic is a flavor that almost always goes well with potatoes. If you are making garlic mashed potatoes, by adding fresh garlic or garlic powder to your potatoes, try adding parsley or any other fresh herb to give it an extra pop of flavor. You can also mix in Parmesan cheese for a cheesy taste!
Mashed Potatoes With Garlic And Thyme: If you are looking for an easy way to flavor your potatoes try garlic and thyme. Add a clove of minced fresh garlic or use the equivalent amount of garlic powder mixed with one teaspoon dried thyme leaves, into your mashed potatoes before cooking them in your crock-pot. If you forget to add it in the beginning, you can also add it at the end.
Mashed Potatoes With Bacon And Cheese: If you already have bacon in the fridge, or want to add a little more meat, try adding finely diced cooked bacon with shredded cheese. You can any type of cheese you like. Some good options include cheddar, parmesan, asiago, and even pepper jack.
Mashed Potatoes With Chives: If you are looking for some green flavor in your bowl of mashed potatoes then chop up fresh chives and mix them into the pot before cooking. This is an excellent way to add more flavor.
Mashed Potatoes With Sour Cream: If you want a creamier mashed potato, then mix in sour cream before cooking them with the garlic and thyme leaves.

You can also mix and match any of these ideas. Add bacon, chives, and sour cream to the potatoes. Add thyme, garlic, and cheese. These are just a few ideas for adding variations to your potatoes. Really, the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes
Garlic
Salt
Black pepper
Chicken broth
Heavy cream
Butter

Handy Kitchen Tools

How to Make Mashed Potatoes in the Crock-Pot

Wash potatoes and peel completely.

Rinse well to remove any excess dirt on the outside, and then cut into 1 ½ to 2-inch chunks.

Smash the garlic cloves with the back of a knife to release the oils.

Line the slow cooker or grease the inside crock with unsalted butter or cooking spray.

To the slow cooker, add the potatoes and smashed garlic.

Add salt, black pepper, and the chicken broth to the slow cooker with the potatoes and stir.

Cover and cook on high heat for 2 hours or low heat for 4 hours.

In a small saucepan, warm the cream and butter until the butter is melted and the cream is hot, but not boiling.

Use a potato masher or whisk to mash the potatoes.

Then whisk in the hot cream and butter mixture.

Let stand for 15-minutes before serving.

Cooking Tips

If you prefer a more mild garlic flavor, you can remove the garlic cloves from the slow cooker before mashing.
For a thicker mashed potato, you can drain or remove some of the chicken broth before mashing the potatoes with cream and butter.

Can You Make Crockpot Mashed Potatoes Ahead of Time?

The best part of making crockpot mashed potatoes is that it is easy to make this dish ahead of time. You can make it a day ahead, and then reheat them. To reheat, you can place them back into the slow cooker on low for 1 hour. Alternately, they can be reheated in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave in 1-minute increments.

Can You Freeze Mashed Potatoes?

I have heard of people freezing mashed potato leftovers. To me, whenever mashed potatoes are frozen, they start to taste like tv dinner mashed potatoes, no matter how fantastic they taste when they are freshly made, the starches harden when the potatoes are frozen, and the texture changes. The potatoes become hard and have a very grainy texture that is not enjoyable.

If you have frozen mashed potatoes or want to save them in the freezer, sometimes you can save the flavor and texture of them once they have thawed. You will need to add more cream and butter to the potatoes and mash them again. Be careful not to over-mash them and create a gummy texture that is almost always inedible. Even with adding the extra fat to the potatoes, the best you can hope for is a processed potato flavor and texture.

To freeze mashed potatoes, allow them to cool completely in the refrigerator before portioning into 1 cup measurements and placing them into freezer storage containers. Label and date the containers and use them within 3 months of making them.

More Easy Slow Cooker Meals

If you love utilizing your slow cooker for meal time, then you'll appreciate some of our other popular recipes that are made perfectly in the Crock-Pot.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 8